Fuel heating device



Dec. 29, 1931. F. BRANDT FUEL HEATING DEVICE Filed Nov. E6, 1929 .5 Sheets-Sheet.

m l I bwl i//ff Uv. 4 il! amc/qc Dec'. 29, 1931. F. BRANDT FUEL HEATING'DEVICE Filed Nmhfge,` 1929 Y s sheets-sheet 2 SMM@ Dec. 29, 1931.

F. BRANDT FUEL HEATING DEVI CE s sheets-sheet s Filed NOV. 26, 1929 il N.

wuwntot ation/w11 i Patented Dec. 29, 1931 i UNITED STATES mnnnmmnr, or TAGus, NORTH DAKOTA FUEL HEATING DEVICE Application mea November' 2e, `1929. serial No. 4025,936. y

flhe present'invention relates to internal combustion engines, and particularly to improvements in feeding fuelfthereto' An obj ect of the invention is to lprovide improved means for heating air 'before it enters a carburetor. ,t I

Another objectis to 4'provide improved means for heating the fuel chargebefore it enters ,the carburetor. Y

Another .obj eet is to provide mechanism for the automatic control of the heating devices for the -fuel charge. Y .A A still further object is vto provide improved devices permitting the fuel to enter the carburetor in liquid form. y Y

Other'objects and advantages of the invention will appear :trom the following description, taken in connection withY the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention, andin which; c Y

Fig. 1 is a side-elevation of mechanism embodyingthepresentinvention, and shown for purposes of illustration as being applicable to a four-.cylinder `internal combustion engine of the .tractor type, though Tit will be understood that `the invention, as defined by the appendedclaims, is not limited thereto;

Fig. 2 isa top plan viewpartly in section, of themeclhan'ism shown in Fig. 1; y Fig. 3-is a vertical sectional View of a modiied form of airpassage to the carburetor;

' lFig. 4 isf a horizontal sectional view through the structure of `Fig. 3 taken on the line Referring ,in detail to the accompanying drawings,lthe .reference numeral 11 indicates the Vexhaust .-manifold ofan 'internal combustion enginefhaving an. outer end opening I12, through Ywhichthe 'exhaust gases,pass, and

`Whichlsaid gases mayfreach through eitherl of two passages, namely lfrom the horizontal A passage 11 fthroughf the f downwardly vextend- :ing passage' 13, -or ntromV the yhorizontal passage 111 down through the vertical passage 14 to the lower yhorizontally vextending passage-15 and thence to-the end opening V12 `o'fthe fexhaus'tfmanifold. ,A control valve within 'the passage '14 detlects 'the A exhaust gases through either one or the other of the passages justdescribed.

`Air reaches the carburetor 18 through an air passage 19 from ank air cleaner (not shown). A Valve 21 provided with a rod 22 formanual control is located within the air passageV 19.` v

Referring particularly'to Fig. 2, when the valve 21 is open, air is permitted to travel through the conduit 19 directly to "the, carburetor 18; when thevalve 21 is closed, the air on its wayV to the carburetor is diverted through a by-pass 24 into a conduit 25, which passes horizontallythroughthe vertically extending branch 13 of the exhaust manifold. V,The conduit 25 opens into an air chamber 27V located between the vertical exhaust pasf sages 13 and 14. Within the 4air chamber 27 is located a `baille plate 29A slightly curved andextending for the full depth of the air Vchamber from the lower right-hand corner thereof towards the upper leit-handvcorner, as viewed in Fig. 1. The air chamber 27 has its bottom and end walls formed by vthe exhaust conduits ofthe motor, as vshown in 1, and when air is deiected hy valve 21 through the ley-pass 24, it is heated in the conduit 25'by thegases in the exhaust passage 13, after which it enters the air chamber 27,1Where it is deflected by the baille 29,

around the outside walls of the air'chamber', threeof whichare composed of cast iron manifolds, 'which cause the air to be further heated.Y From the airchamber 27, the air is de'- livered through a conduit 30 again into the Vconduit 19 at a point beyond `the valve`2l,

andfrom this point is delivered to the car-v buretor 18. v

' YReferringto Figs. Sand 4, a moditiedfform of air passage to thercarburetor is' shown Whichcauses the air to be heated to a higher temperature than in. thev structure `just de,-

`27 extends below and around this conduit,and

is provided with a baffle plate 29 extending diagonally across the chamber in a vertical plane. The end vertical edges of the baille are in contact with opposite corners of the chamber, as shown in Fig. 4. rlhe upper and lower edges of the baille are in contact with the topof the chamber and the top of the exhaust conduit 15, as shown in Fig. 3.

In this construction the air enters chamber 27 from conduit 25 and is deflected toward the left of chamber 27', as viewed in Fig. 3, by baffle 29. The air passes downward on the left side of said chamber to the bottom thereof, thence under the exhaust conduit 15, thence up the right side of said chamber on the other side of the baille plate, and thence out of the chamber 27 through conduit 30. From the conduit 80 the air passes tothe carburetor as already described.

This construction causes increased heating of the air delivered to the carburetor not only by bringing it into heating relation with the two exhaust passages 13 and 14 and the top of exhaust passage 15, but in addition also causes the air to pass completely around the lower horizontal exhaust passage 15, thereby increasing the length of the air heating path and taking additional advantage of the heating ability of passage 15.

The invention provides improved means for preheating` the fuel delivered to the carburetor, and, in accordance with the present invention, the mechanism thereof isso constructed as to permit such controlled preheating of the fuel that it is possible, after the motor has been started, to switch from a highly volatile fuel to a heavy fuel of low volatility.

For this purpose, in accordance with the present embodiment of the invention, a circulating liquid system is provided through which liquid flows from a tank 39 down through an outlet pipe 40 to a horizontally extending conduit 4l. The conduit 41 enters the cast iron side of the exhaust passage 13 and extends horizontally therethrough and also through the lower horizontal exhaust passage 15, thus subjecting the liquid in said conduit to the heat of the exhaust gases, by which the liquid is heated up to or nearly to the boiling point. At its other end the conduit 41 passes through the vertical end wall of the downwardly extending exhaust passage 14, as shown in Fig. 2. A very small portion of the liquid passing through the conduit 41 is delivered to the carburetor 18 through a pipe 42, the remainder returning to the tank 39 through passage 43, one end of which opens into the vertical conduit 44, and the other end of which opens into the upper portion of the liquid tank 39. Any suitable form of temperature-indicating device may be associated with the liquid conduit 44 through a connection 46. Y

In the present instance the liquid may be water, and the tank 39 may be a water tank, though it will be understood that other liquids, particularly those having a higher boiling oint than water, may be used.

A jacent the water tank 39 may be loc-ated a fuel tank 48, which, in accordance with the present invention, may contain a relatively heavy fuel oil, and adjacent the tank 48 may be located a second fuel tank 49, which may contain a. relatively highly volatile starting fuel, such as gasoline. From each of the tanks 48 and 49 a valve controlled outlet leads to the fuel feed conduit 50, which, in the present instance, extends downwardly from said tanks and delivers one or the other of the two fuels to a horizontally extending heating tube 52, which passes centrally through the conduit 41 and has an increased diameter substantially throughout that part of its length which lies within the conduit 41. This enlarged portion 53 of the feed pipe causes a decrease in the speed of travel of the fuel within the conduit orwater jacket 41 for the purpose of giving the fuel a longer time to be subjected to the higher temperature of the water. The feed line is continued from the enlarged portion 53 through the water conduit 44, through the wall of which the feed line 56 delivers the fuel to the carburetor 18.

The foregoing mechanism insures suiiicient preheating of a heavy fuel to permit of its being suliiciently atomized to operate the internal combustion engine. As soon as the engine is operated long enough on the volatile fuel, such as gasoline, to heat the water in the tube 41 to the necessary temperature, the heavy fuel, such as fuel oil, may be fed to the carburetor from the tank 48 and the supply of gasoline or other volatile fuel cut ofll from the tank 49. It will be seen that the foregoing construction has the advantage of permitting the heatingV medium to reach a suiiciently high temperature to permit the -use of a heavy fuel without permitting the temperature of such fuel to be raised too high; at the same time the heating water will not be cooled as it would be were it taken from the cooling system of the motor. Although the heating water, by the present invention, may be heated up the boiling point, it has no effect on the operating temperature of the motor. An important advantage is that the fuel cannot be transformed into a vapor before it reaches the carburetor, as would be the case were the feed line passed through the exhaust passage without the water jacket. Although the enlarged portion 53 of the fuel line is relatively short in length, it is at the same time relatively large in diameter, which permits the flow of fuel to the carburetor to slow down long enough to raise the fuel to the temperature of the surrounding water. Moreover, by the foregoing construction the fuel pipes are not subjected directly to the heat of the exhaust gases, and therefore cannot be burned or corroded or become fouled.

Various changes may be made in the detailed construction abovedescribed by Way of illustration Without departing from the invention as defined by the following claims.

Vhat is claimed is:

l. Fuel feeding apparatus for an internal combustion engine including an exhaust conduit for said engine, a liquid circulating system having a heating portion located Within Said exhaust conduit, and a fuel line part of Which passes through said heating portion.

2. Fuel feeding apparatus for an internal combustion engine including an exhaust conduit for said engine, a liquid-circulating fuelheating system having a fuel-heating portionlocated Within said exhaust conduit, the remainder of said system being out of thermal relation to said engine, and a fuel line part of Which passes through said fuel-heating portion.

3. Fuel feeding apparatus for an internal combustion engine includingan exhaust conduit for said engine, a liquid-circulating fuelheating system having a fuel-heating portion located Within said exhaust conduit, and a fuel line having an enlarged section located Within said fuel-heating portion.

4. Fuel feeding apparatus for an internal combustion engine including'a carburetor, an exhaust conduit from said engine, an air inlet pipe to said carburetor having a by-pass through said exhaust conduit, a liquid-circu-` lating system having a heating portion lo-V cated Within said exhaust conduit, a liquid delivery line from said system to said carburetor, and a fuel line part of which passes through said heating portion.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

Y FRED BRANDT. 

